inewtrition – Food Product Development Company

Lovely couple eating water melon
CASE STUDY

Building blocks of product innovation

Case study 1

The objective

Create a plant-based smoothie with a fruit-juice base that is low in sugar and protein-enriched, while achieving the desired mouthfeel, texture, and taste.

The challenge

Proteins can have an aftertaste that needs masking. Sugar reduction leads to reduced mouthfeel and a more watery texture.

The approach

  • A pea- and fava-protein combination delivered the desired neutral protein-taste profile, without leaving an aftertaste or creating any discolouration.
  • The fibres used delivered excellent water absorption and moisture-holding capacity, while improving the shelf life of the product.
  • Corn starch and pectin delivered great mouthfeel and texture within an acidic environment.
  • The sweetness blend delivered a balanced, sweet taste with lower calories.
By using a protein-enriched ingredient blend containing proteins, fibres, texturisers, and sweeteners, we were able to focus on synergies with enhanced nutritional labelling and cost-saving initiatives.

Case study 2

The objective

Create a clean-label, protein-powder superfood blend for the US market, with the goal of positively impacting and improving the athletic performance and training ability of both amateur and professional female athletes.

The challenge

Product innovation and education around female-focused nutrition has ample room for improvement, particularly in the areas of research into nutritional ingredients and dietary supplements. This looks to be a strong growth category as more and more women work to optimise their bodies for endurance, strength, and speed. The challenge was to create nutritious products with compelling value propositions that align with female nutrition goals for performance and strength.

The approach

  • Strategic innovation workshop
  • Innovation management
  • Market and consumer research
  • New product development planning
We carried out a hands-on strategic business review workshop, with the goal of accelerating innovation and driving differentiation at each stage of the product. By auditing key trends and insights across the product category landscape, we were able to detail a rapid and agile research and development plan, as well as the scale-up of the process required for creating a product based on female-specific, essential nutrients needs within the performance nutrition space. We conducted competitive intelligence, market research, consumer insight, and consumer mapping studies into the US market and its consumers to determine the product’s best unique selling points (USPs), and developed feedback on potential value propositions for a marketing launch strategy.

Results achieved

  • Through a stability study, and by aligning their innovation processes and technology with their goals, we helped the company minimise the potential for denaturation and achieve their desired 18-month shelf life, with stability in all climates, while also reckoning with the impact of COVID-19 on the performance-nutrition and dietary-supplement markets.
  • Our investigation gleaned key insights into the total consumer experience. This enabled us to create a customised formulation based on the sensory preferences of the client’s target customer, allowing them to fully commercialise the science behind the female-focused ingredients.
  • Following our “compliance by design” approach, we aligned the brand with the appropriate FDA-approved nutritional and health claims in the US.
  • We identified the general costs incurred in each value chain step, and reached the deadlines and key performance indicators (KPIs) on-time and within budget.

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